$68M plan to replace Norfolk Fitness and Wellness Center includes pickleball courts, pool facilities
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NORFOLK — A $68 million plan to replace the Norfolk Fitness and Wellness Center near Wards Corner is advancing through the city approval process, with construction slated to begin in mid-2025.
The design, which would construct a 100,000-square-foot complex and a number of outdoor fields and courts, was unanimously approved Thursday by the Norfolk Planning Commission.
The plans call for a large two-story building to house indoor swimming pools, a gymnasium and a library. Outside features include playgrounds, a multi-sport playing field, tennis and pickleball courts, a nature 'explorium,' a boardwalk overlooking local wetlands and more.
During the meeting, city planner Faith Hamman said the existing building would be demolished to make way for the new construction. The city opened the facility in 2005 at 7300 Newport Ave. after spending more than $6 million on purchasing and renovating it, according to Virginian-Pilot archives. The oldest buildings on the property date to the 1950s, and the site was the home of the Tidewater Jewish Community Center from 1966 to 2004.
In an October community meeting on the plans, project manager John Alford said the new center design would intentionally combine the library and the recreation center.
'We want them to share spaces, which gives us a better opportunity to provide support to the community,' Alford said.
The pool area — a natatorium — is much more than a pool, said Jeff Nodorft, an aquatics consultant, during the October meeting. In addition to the eight-lane pool, the area includes a lazy river, a splash pad area and a therapy pool.
The nature area would be behind the building near the wetlands. Erin Horton, senior landscape architect with Clark Nexsen, said the natural education area would feature outdoor classroom space, a lawn for free play, a garden space for pollinators or butterflies and a hedge maze.
'That would kind of a neat opportunity to just get in lost in play,' Horton said.
According to the city, demolition of the current building will happen this spring.
The project is funded through bonds, according to the 2024 Norfolk budget document.
In other park projects, Norfolk is working on a $4.5 million renovation to Barraud Park, which will add a new splashpad area, renovate the amphitheater and increase access to the Lafayette River. After project delays, the city is investigating reopening parts of the park during construction.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
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